Footprints
by Emma826
Summary: Season 3 episode 2. A theory on what might have happened between Tony and Ziva in the hotel room after they spoke outside. It starts out as friendship, but may turn into something more?
1. The Beginning

**A/N:** I've been re watching a lot of older episodes recently, so have been thinking about what happened in the 2nd episode of Season 3. This is trying to explain why Tony and Ziva appeared to have such great chemistry even though they barely knew each other at the beginning of Season 3. It starts after Ziva leaves Tony standing outside in the rain with the two cups of coffee.

Tony debated for about a minute, then followed her up the stairs. The concierge's desk was vacant and the lobby was empty, so he quickly searched the computer behind the podium for Ziva David's room number. On finding it, he climbed the stairs to the third floor. He found Room 304 quickly and knocked. She opened the door without asking who was there.

"Not very safe" he commented.

"I knew it was you. There is a peephole."

"Could have been me in disguise."

"No one else knows I am here, except Ari. And he is not likely to come calling."

"Who is he?" Tony asked abruptly.

"Ari?"

"Yes."

"A Mossad Officer who has infiltrated Hamas, like I said earlier."

"You really think he's infiltrated Hamas, and not the other way around?"

"Yes. Ari is faithful to Mossad. I am not having this conversation in the hallway, you had better come in." He followed her in the room.

"Drink?" She offered up a bottle of red wine.

"No. Working. Can't."

"NCIS Agents do not drink on duty?"

"Nope."

"Wow." Ziva took a sip of her wine, swirling the liquid in the glass.

"How's the wine?"

"Not bad. But I have had better." She put her glass on the side table and sat down on the sofa. Tony followed her, sitting at the other end.

"So if Ari's faithful to Mossad, why is his name half Israeli and half Palestinian?" Tony asked.

"You get straight to the point, don't you?"

"Yes."

"You would be awful undercover."

"Thanks for that."

"I only speak the truth."

"And you're an undercover expert?"

"Yes, in fact."

"Ok. Back to the point. Answer to my question?" She eyed him, considering.

"Ari's father slept with a Palestinian women. He was already married, so he took Ari after he was born to raise him in Israel. His mother let him go, thinking he would be safer in Hafia, where Ari lived when he was a child, than in the Gaza Strip."

"Israel, safe?" Tony's tone was slightly subdued, but still sarcastic. He'd had a rough childhood himself, but he couldn't imagine growing up knowing your Father and Mothers countries were at war with each other. He quickly reminded himself this was the man who had killed his partner, and deserved no compassion.

"Hafia, which is a coastal town, is safer than the Gaza Strip, yes."

"Ok. So Ari was raised to be a mole?" At this, Ziva's eyes went blacker. They lost their spark, and she swallowed harshly before continuing.

"If you must look at it like that, yes."

"Why do you care so much? Are all Mossad Agents that loyal to each other?" Tony asked. He was really trying not to be harsh or sarcastic this time. Though he had told Gibbs Ziva wasn't his type (which was still true), the women fascinated him.

"I'm his control officer. That means I get the blame for the mistakes he makes." She said, with some finality.

"That doesn't seem very fair." He knew there was more to it than that, but decided to try another angle for now.

"Its how Mossad works."

"Did you want to be Mossad?"

"Yes. I grew up being told it was my responsibility and my duty to protect my country. I got out of my two years in the IDF because I went straight into Mossad, where the skills my father had been teaching us my whole life would be most beneficial."

"So your father is Mossad?"

"Yes."

"Do all Israelis have the same sense of duty?"

"Life is different when you are surrounded by enemies. You learn from an early age to protect yourself, and trust few people."

"Doesn't sound like a great situation to grow up in."

"Well, my childhood was not all bad. I had some very happy summers in Hafia, and riding with my cousin at my uncle's horse farm. And I had my sister, and…my brother.

"You have a brother as well as Talia?" The name sounded strange coming from Tony's lips. He didn't have the right accent.

"Yes. My childhood was not as bad as you may think, under the circumstances. Not all American children grow up happy." She gave him a significant look.

"How much do you know about my childhood?"

"As part of my role as Ari's control officer, I did background checks on everyone he may encounter." She gave him a slightly apologetic look.

"So you know everything about all of our pasts? Even Gibbs?"

"Yes."

"Oh-ho, what'd you find out about Gibbs?"

"That is for me to know and you not to find out, at least from me. I would not tell you what I know about Gibbs any more than I would tell him what I know about you," she said firmly.

"What do you know about me then?" He challenged.

"Your mother died when you were eight. Your father is a businessman residing in New York City. As a child, you attended military boarding schools, two of which you were expelled from. You went to summer camp and on work vacations with your father during summer break. You went to Ohio State University, and played were captain of the varsity basketball team. You were supposed to play professionally, but you had a career ending knee injury your senior year. You became a cop in Baltimore. Your partner turned out to be dirty. You had just proposed to your high school music teacher when you moved to DC and joined NCIS. She refused to go with you."

He looked at her, aghast. She really did know everything….at least, all the important things.

"I am sorry. I should not have told you all that."

"Well, you know all the gory details now," he said, trying not to sound bitter.

"I am sorry, for everything that went wrong." She replied, softly now.

"Not all of its as bad as it sounds. College was great, until the knee injury. And even during that time, I had some awesome friends who pulled me through. Without them, I probably would have gone off the deep end. And Baltimore was pretty good, until that went to hell. Luckily Gibbs turned up at the right time," he said ruefully.

"Do any of your co-workers know your past?"

"No….most of them see me as the goofy jock who wishes he was still at college."

"You are too hard on yourself."

"You don't know me well."

"Do you talk to your father?" she asked, deciding to change the subject, slightly.

Tony eyed her suspiciously, "now look whose being blunt."

"You don't have to answer."

"I know I don't have to answer." He wasn't used to sharing this much of himself. Even his closest friends, his fraternity brothers, Danny (once upon a time), and Wendy (again, once upon a time), didn't know as much about him as appeared to.

"Do you talk to your parents?" he countered.

She considered him for a moment, and then decided he deserved an answer. He deserved to know some of the truth about her, because she knew all of the truth about him. Sometimes she really, really hated her job. "My mother…no. Not since Talia's death. My father…when I have to. Because I have to."

"Why do you have to talk to your father?" Tony was genuinely curious.

"He is heavily involved in Mossad. I often report to him."

"Oh."

"Yes. Well, you successfully avoided answering your question…for a few minutes. What about your father?"

"We just don't get along. I never fit into his mould of what a perfect son should be. He fully lost interested when my basketball career fell apart, because at least that was something he could brag about at cocktail parties."

Ziva felt her stomach clench. Anger? Compassion? She had never been good at identifying feelings.

"I…" she trailed off, not knowing what to say.

"Nothing anyone can say, or do. It's done. And it's not like I'm 10 anymore, I don't need him."

Ziva looked at him again, knowing that he was wrong. Everyone needed a parent, needed that support system, and unconditional love, no matter how old they were. Ari was proof of that, always fighting for Eli's approval. Or was he? Had he given up? Had he turned traitor? Ziva still did not want to believe it. She would not believe it, until she found proof. That was why she had taken the position as his control officer. She had fought with her father about it, but he had finally shown what little compassion he had, and agreed. Ziva did not want her brother killed, even if he was a traitor. He was all she had.

"You ok?"

She snapped out of her reverie, "Sorry. Just thinking."

"About?"

"You're nosy."

"Yes. I am. It makes me a good investigator."

"I am sure it would be a good qualification to have," she smiled.

"Want to talk about it?"

"What?"

"Whatever you're thinking about."

"Not really."

"Ok." He looked at her for a few minutes. He decided he'd probably lied to Gibbs earlier. Wasn't his type? Maybe he'd been dating the wrong type all these years. Her face was unusual in all its curves and crevices, her hair exploded around her chin, and her eyes. They were captivating. They seemed to know exactly what he was thinking. It should have been scary, off putting, but it wasn't.

"I'm going to bed. It is late, and tomorrow will be tiring," she said.

"Ok…I'll just…go then." He was somewhat flustered.

"You do not have to." Her expression had just changed…seductive? He couldn't decide. She wasn't as obvious as the women he was used to.

"Um, ok. I'll sleep on the couch?" he tried, awkwardly. He wasn't used to this. Tony DiNozzo was not awkward with women. Ever. Until now.

"The bed is big enough for two. And comfortable." She had turned the seductive tone completely off now, and was going back to the warm voice she'd used after reciting his life to him.

"Alright then."

"I am going to change. Get ready for bed if you are staying," this time, he definitely noticed her checking him out.

Thankful he had been working out lately, taking advantage of free membership at the gym on the Navy Yard, Tony stripped down into his boxers and white t-shirt he wore under his work clothes. Not what he usually slept in, but the situation was going to be awkward enough as it was. They clearly were not going to be doing anything that night other than sleeping.

Ziva came back from the bathroom, wearing red silk pyjamas and a skimpy tank top. Tony grinned at her. "Ready?"

"Yes. There is a spare toothbrush provided by the hotel in the bathroom," she said, gesturing.

"Yes M' am."

When Tony returned to the room, Ziva was already snuggled under the covers. She had pushed the covers on the other side of the bed back, so he dived in.

"Hi."

"Hi," Tony said. His phone buzzed, vibrating on the bedside table. He had set it to charge while Ziva had been in the bathroom.

"DiNozzo. Any changes?" Gibbs, of course.

"No, Boss. She has not left the hotel."

"Where are you?"

"In the lobby. There is a bar, I'm sitting there. There's no other entrance that's not alarmed, and I have not seen her."

"Quiet for a bar, I don't hear any background noise."

"It is a weeknight, and it's late."

"Right, DiNozzo. Keep an eye on her. Sleep well." Tony pressed snapped his phone shut, laughing.

"What?" She asked.

"Gibbs never, ever misses anything. It's so frustrating."

"That's why he is your boss, yes?"

"Well, yeah. Clearly." She gave a throaty laugh, and to his slight surprise, reached over and drew herself closer to him.

"Hold me?" she asked, a bit shakily. It was the first time all night her composure had slipped.

"Ok"

"So you do not hate me." Tony couldn't decide if it was a statement or question.

"Why would I hate you?"

"Ari killed your partner…at least you think he did."

" We may have to agree to disagree on that, but I don't hate people for what they can't control." He said, shifting so she was lying against his chest.

"I'm supposed to control his actions though."

"Control Officer is an unfair title. No one can, or even should, control another human."

"Ok. What if I told you the truth?"

"Which is?"

"Ari's father and mine are one in the same"

"He's you're half brother?" He didn't let go of his hold on her.

"Yes." Her voice broke.

"Oh, Ziva…" He trailed off, hugging her to him harder.

"You still don't blame me?" she asked, her voice muffled against him.

"No…" his voice was still soft, but firm.

"I do not want to believe Ari is capable of murder. But the logical side of me keeps demanding I look at the facts."

"Of course you don't want to believe your brother is capable of that, or of betrayal of your country."

"I grew up with him," she said softly.

"Gibbs could be wrong," Tony tried.

"You do not believe that, though."

"Well…"

"It is ok, Tony. Kate was your partner."

"She was."

"Did you love her?" Ziva asked suddenly, expecting him to deflect the answer.

"No. Kate and I were contrary. We argued. All the time."

"Like an old married couple?" She asked, and Tony laughed softly.

"More like brother and sister."

"I do not know what will happen…"

"Zi, what will happen, will happen. Try to get some sleep," he murmured.

"I cannot."

"You said you were tired."

"Just to get you in bed."

"Hah. Funny." He rubbed little circles on her back, over her tank top. She reached behind and lifted the back up.

"Do it properly" she murmured.

"Ok, Ninja…"

"Ninja?"

"You are a Ninja. It seems more appropriate than superwomen."

"Nice save."

"Goodnight, Zi."

"Night," she lent into his hands circling on her back. Eventually her breathing evened out, and he finally fell asleep himself.

At 0500, Tony was jerked awake by the blaring alarm. It took him a few minutes to remember what had happened the previous night. He was still entwined around Ziva. He unentwined himself and reached over to turn the alarm off.

"You awake?"

"For the first time in my life I do not want to be, but yes," she replied.

"You're a morning Ninja then"

"Another American idiom"

"It's supposed to be morning person – someone who likes mornings."

"I am. Usually."

"I am not. But I had better…" he trailed off as his mobile rang.

"DiNozzo" he said into it.

"DiNozzo, get here. Now."

"You do not want me on Ziva?" he wiggled his eyebrows at her suggestively.

"No. I need you here."

"On it."

"Back to reality," he muttered under his breath. Part of him wanted to whisk her away somewhere and start a new life. He'd fallen head over heels in one night. They had…something. But they'd never get to work out what, they both knew that.

"Sorry?"

"That was Gibbs. I've got to head back to the Navy Yard."

"Thank you, Tony. For being here. For the sympathy," she said, softly, watching him pull on his clothes from the previous day. She got out of bed as he did his tie.

"You're welcome. Zi, I don't know when…or if…we'll meet again. But good luck. Everything will work out, you'll see." She wished she could believe him. He pulled her into a hug, and surprising both of them, brushed his lips across hers.

"See you later, Ninja."

"Goodbye, Tony."

"Not Goodbye. See you later. We'll meet again," he said, still holding her.

"Ok. See you later then." She let him go. Her lips were still tingling a good five minutes after the door had closed, and he had walked out of her life.

_It didn't take someone staying awhile to leave footprints on your heart._

**A/N: **This could be left as a one shot but I do have ideas to continue it. It would be 3 or 4 at the most chapters with the last being "present" day (so post Pyramid). Please let me know what you think in a review! I did write an NCIS fic a while ago, but took it down because it was really badly edited. So I guess this is my "first" NCIS fic. Constructive criticism is more than welcome!

Thanks :-D


	2. The Afermath

**A/N: **Chapter 2...disclaimed as usual.

Gibbs tiptoed back into his basement, to find Ziva standing over her half brother's body, seemingly frozen.

He spoke softly, "Ziva?" She turned around, her face nearly all covered by her hair.

"Special Agent Gibbs?"

"Why don't you go upstairs?" He handed her a glass jam jar, which he had already poured bourbon into.

"But…his body…. it will need to go back to Israel," she said, carefully, steadily.

"I'll take care of it. Just go upstairs."

Gibbs made arrangements to get the body to the airport, then followed Ziva upstairs. She was sitting on his couch, shaking, shedding silent tears. Gibbs went to the other end of the hall, and made another call.

"Jen? I need you to come to my house, now….No, not that. Just come."

"Sorry, Gibbs. I'll go," came the muffled voice from his couch.

"Where?"

"Back to the hotel" Ziva tried.

"No. You're not staying alone tonight. Just hang tight a minute," he said.

"Hang tight?"

"Stay put."

"But…Ari…"

"Ziva, nothing I could say or do is going to change how you feel, or make this any easier for you..."

"You do not have to say anything," She said, swirling the bourbon around in the jam jar. So he didn't, until his door opened.

"Jen," he said, looking up at his old partner, getting up to meet her at the door.

"Ziva?"

"She's in the living room"

"I'm here; you did not have to come, Jenny."

"Of course I did. What happened?" Ziva turned away, not yet ready to face the facts.

"Ari's dead." Was all Gibbs said.

"Oh." She eyed Gibbs.

"Jen, you knew the circumstances."

"I know, I know. We'll talk later. Alright…Ziva, come on."

"I am fine, Jenny. I will go back to the hotel."

"You may have misunderstood me, but this is not up for debate." Ziva did not argue the point, deciding it would take more energy than it was worth. She followed Jenny out to the chauffeured car, climbing into the backseat next to her.

"Home, please," Jenny directed the driver.

"Yes M' am."

"It was not Gibbs's fault, Jenny." Ziva looked at her.

"Ok," Jenny said, looking at her questioningly.

"It's my fathers. It all goes back to him." That was all Ziva said, and Jenny did not know how to respond, but Ziva did not seem to expect one. The roads were quiet. They pulled up at the Georgetown townhouse, and Jenny pulled her door open. Ziva began visibly shaking; unable to respond when Jenny tried to get her out of the car. The driver helped Jenny half carry half lead Ziva into the house.

"Susan?" Jenny called.

"Yes M' am?"

"We have a guest tonight. I am going to take her up to the blue room. Will you please bring some hot chocolate and brandy?"

"Yes M' am"

Ziva mutely followed Jenny upstairs into the beautiful guest bedroom with a four-poster bed in the centre and window seat with cozy cushions. She did not speak until Jenny turned to leave, saying she would find Ziva some pyjamas.

"Jenny?"

"Yes?"

"Thank you for all you have done for me tonight… but may I ask for one more favour?"

"Yes?"

"Can you find out if Tony is available, and if he is, ask him to come here?"

"Tony?" Jenny was taken aback, thinking Tony was a friend of Ziva's at the Israeli Embassy.

"Sorry…I mean Special Agent DiNozzo."

"Oh. Ok, yes, of course. Why don't you take a shower in the meantime?" Ziva nodded. Jenny closed the door behind her, going into her own room to dig out some pyjamas and make a phone call.

"Special Agent DiNozzo?"

"Yes?"

"This is Director Shepherd"

"What can I do for you tonight, Director?" he asked.

"The Ari situation was concluded tonight. He is dead. I've got Ziva here, and she is asking for you."

"Ziva asked for me?" he asked, somewhat in shock.

"Yes. Can you come?"

"Yeah, I'll be right there. Where do you live?" Jenny gave him an address.

"Wow, nice place…ok, I'll be there soon." He ended the call, and rejoined his fraternity brother, Jacob, and Jacob's girlfriend/partner Melissa in their family room, where he was having dinner.

"Sorry, Jake, something's come up," he said, "I need to head out."

"Everything ok?" Melissa asked.

"I don't know. I need to go and find out though. Thanks for dinner, it was excellent, as usual," he kissed her on the cheek, and said goodbye to Jacob. Their house was on the edge of Georgetown and Adams Morgan, so not far from Jenny's home. He pulled into Jenny's driveway, and knocked on her front door.

"Special Agent DiNozzo?"

"Yes, that would be me."

"Follow me please," Tony followed the women upstairs. She stopped in front of the second door along the hallway and knocked.

"Come in," came Jenny's voice from inside. She was sitting on a chair next to the bed, which was empty.

"Ziva is just finishing a shower. You got here quickly, how many traffic laws did you violate?" she asked.

"None. I was eating dinner at a friends who lives in the area."

"Thank you for coming. I think it's you Ziva really wants, so I'll be in my room. If you need me, it's two doors down and on the right."

"Ok." He said, awkwardly wondering what he was supposed to do next. How do you comfort someone whose half brother, who also happened to be a murderer who you would've killed yourself, was killed?

The bathroom door swung open. Ziva stood there, looking small and even vulnerable in borrowed flannel pyjama bottoms and an oversized t-shirt. Suddenly, what he was supposed to do came naturally. He walked around to the other side of the bed, where the bathroom door was, and drew her into his arms, offering the comfort she needed. They stayed like that for an eternity, him just holding her, knowing to wait until she spoke. He may not know her well, but he knew she wouldn't like being vulnerable, and he would do better not to make it obvious that she was.

"Thank you for coming….despite everything," she said finally, her voice muffled against his chest.

"Of course," he lifted her chin, making her look into his eyes.

"It's not your fault." It felt like a lame response, but he couldn't think of any other that would help her come to terms with what had happened.

"How can you just say that, though? Do you know what happened?"

"Not all of it…but Ziva, what happened was going to happen no matter what. That I do know. There is nothing you could have done. Pretend he had lived, and you had to control a Hamas sympathiser."

"I could not have done it, even for him. I probably would have been killed first. But how do I know that would have been less painful than this?"

"It only would have dragged out the inevitable."

"Tony?"

"Yes?"

"How is that true if…I killed him?" He looked up at her. She was deadly serious, shaking slightly.

"Gibbs wanted to arrange to meet him, but Ari was just as willing to meet Gibbs, so I agreed. I told Gibbs I would have his back, stay in hiding while he met Ari in the basement. I still refused to believe Ari would actually kill Gibbs, even though Eli had given me orders to eliminate Ari earlier today. I did not want to believe it. I did not want to kill my own brother on orders, but when he aimed that gun at Gibbs…it was almost instinct to protect Gibbs, and I barely know Gibbs."

"Did Gibbs know?"

"Know what?"

"That Ari was your brother?"

"Not before I killed him, no."

"But he knows now?"

"Yes."

"And what was his reaction?'

"He was…kind. Respectful, I suppose." Ziva shuddered.

"Ziva, no one should ever have to face what you did. But you did what you had to do. Things will suck for a while, and you will feel like shit, so you'll doubt every move you make. But you'll feel better again, and you'll be stronger again, eventually, though you may not feel like it now. Give yourself time to mourn and come to terms with everything."

"Then what?"

"When you're ready to figure it out, you'll know," he held her tighter, and in response she buried her face in his shirt.

"C' mon, Ziva, let's get you into bed." She didn't even offer a sarcastic reply this time, but let him lead her to the bed and draw back the covers for her.

"Night, Ninja," he murmured.

"Aren't you sleeping too?" she asked softly.

"I'll be back in a minute. I've got to do something first," he said. He closed the door quietly behind him. He wandered down the hall until he found a small sitting room and entered, taking out his cell phone.

"Gibbs"

"Gibbs. Ari's body?" Tony asked.

"How do you know?" Gibbs responded.

"Never mind that now, just tell me please."

"The body is waiting at the Israeli Embassy. It and Ziva have a flight booked to Tel Aviv at 1400 tomorrow. Private jet leaving from Washington National Airport."

"National airport? A jet going to Israel?"

"They make exceptions when the President requests them."

"Ah." Tony decided not to ask which President Gibbs meant.

"Does Ziva know?"

"She knows she's leaving tomorrow with the body."

"I'll take her to the airport."

"Ok, DiNozzo. How deep in are you?"

"I'm not, Gibbs. I'm just helping her out."

"Take tomorrow off then."

"Thanks, Boss." He looked up after pressing the button to end the call because Director Shepherd had slipped in and sat down in the chair opposite him. She was wearing a dressing gown and fuzzy slippers.

"That was brave of you," she said.

"What?"

"Calling Gibbs, after everything."

"Gibbs has this way of knowing everything. Over the past few years I've worked out that the best way to handle him is to tell him what he thinks he already knows before he calls you out."

"Smart."

"I try."

"How is Ziva?"

"She's trying to get some sleep, I'll go back in there in a minute, make sure she's ok."

"Good. Thanks again for coming, Agent DiNozzo."

"No problem, Director Shepherd."

"When we're not in the office, it's Jenny."

"Ok then Jenny, I prefer Tony to Agent DiNozzo."

"Now that's settled, I'm going to go back to bed. Try to get some sleep yourself, Tony. There's a 2nd guest room next door to Ziva's."

"Thank you." He quietly opened the door to Ziva's room. Ziva was asleep, but tossing and turning, twisting the covers around her. Tony climbed carefully into the other side of the bed. He untwined the covers while trying to avoid Ziva's flailing arms, pulling the covers around both of them. Ziva blindly reached for him, and he flinched, but she was only trying to wrap herself around him. He almost heard her sigh, and the flailing stopped.

It was one of the longest nights Tony would remember. Ziva had nightmares, and every time the flailing resumed Tony would calm her down again. Then he would just about fall asleep, and the flailing would start. Finally, at about 3AM, he managed 5 straight hours. At 0800, he was awoken by Ziva nearly jumping out of the bed.

"Hey, easy…"

"Tony! I'm sorry…what time is it? I overslept!"

"It's 0800, and you didn't oversleep, your flight is at 1400."

"Oh." She suddenly deflated, as if the weight of the previous evening's events came down on her. He was there straightaway, drawing her close to his chest.

"What am I supposed to do?" she mumbled into his arms as they wrapped around her.

"You'll do the next thing, because that's all anyone can do," he repeated his words from last night.

"I wish I could believe I was capable of that. Right now I feel so useless."

"You are capable, and you will be more so. But for now, let's get up."

"Why?"

"You'll feel better. I'm going to go take a shower. Looks like Jenny had your stuff brought over earlier," he said, pointing to a duffel bag on a chair by the door. Ziva went obediently to her duffel bag and pulling out a clean pair of cargo pants and dark green v-neck. By the time she had changed and dealt with her hair (or tried to), Tony emerged, dressed in his jeans and button down shirt from the previous night's dinner.

"Want some breakfast?" he asked.

"I suppose,"

"Let's go and see if Jenny is still around then."

"She lets you call her Jenny, or you just do?

"She says only outside the office," he grinned.

"That I do believe," she managed a half smile.

They found Jenny in her study, reading official looking documents.

"Ziva" Jenny got up to hug the Israeli.

"Would you like some breakfast?"

"Yes, please."

"Tony?"

"Sounds good."

"I'm afraid I'm needed in MTAC at 12. Tony, have you spoken to Gibbs?"

"I've got the day. We're not on call," he explained.

"Good…maybe you and Ziva can find something to do until she goes to the airport, if that works for Ziva?"

"Sure, that's not a problem," he replied.

"Ok," was Ziva's subdued response.

"You been to Washington before Ziva?" Tony asked.

"No, never."

"Good. There is plenty to do." Ziva went upstairs to retrieve her duffel bag.

"How was she last night?" Jenny asked, concerned.

"Pretty bad. She had nightmares, but I don't think she remembered them."

"I hope Mossad gives her a break," Jenny said.

"Surely they will?"

"You don't know Mossad," Jenny replied.

"Why does she do it?" he wondered.

"That is something you will have to ask Ziva," she said.

"I suppose the question is why do any of us do it?" he asked somewhat rhetorically.

"If it wasn't us, it would only be someone else." Jenny pointed out.

"Yeah, I suppose that's true," he said, at which point Ziva reappeared in the door.

"Ready to hit the road?"

"Why would I want to hit it?" Ziva asked.

Tony and Jenny both chuckled, and Jenny responded, "It's an expression, meaning get going."

"Oh."

"And I'd better get a move on too – I need to do some paperwork before MTAC."

"Bye, Jenny, and thank you, for everything," Ziva went over to shake Jenny's hand, but found herself being pulled into a hug instead.

"If you need anything at all, get in touch, ok?"

"I will." Tony and Jenny said their goodbyes, and Ziva followed him out to his car.

"Nice car," she said appreciatively.

"Thanks." He took her duffel bag from her and opened the passenger side door for her. Closing it, he put her duffel on the back seat.

Tony pointed the car in the direction of the city centre.

"There's some CDs up there, he said, pointing to the sun visor. Choose one if you like."

"Somehow I doubt we have the same taste in music."

"Broadening your horizons isn't a bad thing," he shot her a smile.

"Your music could make my ears bleed," she quipped.

"It won't."

"Can I ask you something?" She said while flicking through the options.

"You just did, but you may ask me something else."

_For better or for worse…_

**_A/N: _**_Next chapter will be up tomorrow, I just need to look it over as I typed out the entire thing on the plane...so editing needs to happen. Also I am at my parents/bored for the next few days so the goal is to finish this up :-D. In other news, I finished my degree. Yay! _


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